Kora Weaves Only Please

*Kora is an off-white colour, the natural colour of cotton.

One of my suppliers in Secunderabad has a talented design team that produces beautiful weaves in cotton. I’m really excited about my relationship with this supplier because a few months ago they approached me to work closely with them to develop fabrics that I can use for Brass Tacks. They are concerned that the competition with power-loom and mill made fabric is causing the market for handwoven fabric to shrink. When I spoke to them I mentioned that I often come across handwoven fabric that looks striking, but because of the fabric construction it does not work for tailored garments. My current work with this supplier is to find ways to make hand-woven fabrics “imitate” power-loom or mill-made fabrics in terms of strength and construction.

Traditionally, the need for tighter weaves with greater strength didn’t arise because both the dhoti and the sari are yards of woven fabric tied around the body without any tailoring. While it is true that for some thin fabrics the soul and beauty of the fabric is lost when the construction is altered, many other handwoven fabrics that are modified for tailoring still maintain their charm. For the last few months I’ve been really into undefined, irregular woven checks- the kind that are woven with random ikat lines of different colours in the warp and weft (see photo below). This supplier must have a design team that shares my taste because they have a fabulous collection of irregular checks. Particularly stunning were the swatches of kora checks woven on kora fabric.





I fell in love with this fabric right away. It’s amazing how design ideas just flood my brain when I see/feel/touch a fabric that I’m really excited about. I already have a great double layered dress cut on the bias planned with that fabric, as well as a light shirt with pleats. Thrilled to work with this fabric, I placed an order for 4 different checked patterns, except I wanted them in blue, lavender, brick red, and orange.

A couple of days ago I got a phone call from my supplier saying that the weaver society that makes that fabric is very reluctant to work with coloured yarn and that they will only weave that same pattern in kora (the natural colour of cotton: off-white). After talking on the phone for a few minutes I learned that even if my supplier had the yarn dyed in the colour I want and then sent it to the weavers, they would still not be willing to weave the fabric. I am asking for exactly the same construction, the same weave, the same pattern, same everything except for the colour. I was dumbstruck, to say the least, and issues like this one make me think of the huge task ahead of me as I expand my business and experiment more with handwoven fabrics. The lead designer offered a few explanations: that the weavers are too set in their ways and very resistant to change, and, a technical issue, that it is harder to spot weaving defects once the eye has got used to seeing plain kora. I hope that going forward weavers will come out of their box and be willing to experiment. Sure, right now they have a huge market for their kora fabric just the way it is, but believe me, that fabric can go places in colour. Until then, the immediate solution is to have the fabric woven in kora and then dye the entire fabric afterwards. It is a bit of a compromise (the fabric looks less patchy if it is yarn dyed), but what am I going to do?

Selling Brass Tacks

After two years and six collections, I finally feel that I’m beginning to find my voice in my designs for Brass Tacks. I think my initial hesitation had a lot to do with being new to the field, unsure of what people in Chennai would wear, and most importantly, not too experimental with my own style of dressing. That range of conservative to adventurous (but not in a Brass Tacks way) was reflected in my previous collections. I’ve now figured that my strongest inspiration will always come from traditional textiles and the stories and history behind them. My second strongest influence comes from the empowered feeling I want the women wearing Brass Tacks to experience.

Now that I have more focused direction with the design aspect of my work, I’m trying to find the right marketing path that is in harmony with the brand image. In my press kits I try my best to articulate what it is that I am trying to do, but since press write ups are not paid for, I don’t have a say in what is printed. Some papers and magazines did write a short story on my company around the time I opened my store, but since then I’ve only managed to get small announcements when I have a new collection in the store. Word of mouth is strong but slow, and regular streams of advertising are expensive. I’ve given a lot of thought to participating in one of the fashion weeks that are held in India, but I fear that my down-to-earth natural fabrics and simple styles will stick out next to the glamorous, highly embellished garments that are usually showcased on the runway by other designers. Then again, GAP did participate in New York fashion week, so I could be wrong.

I’m working towards retailing at a store in Hyderabad from April onwards (more details once the collection is ready) and hopefully I will have an exhibition in Bangalore in July. I hope that reaching out to Brass Tacks women in other cities will act as a catalyst to the word-of-mouth marketing that my customers help with. In the meantime, I need to come up with something stronger; a clever campaign that celebrates women’s curves instead of trying to hide them, demonstrates how natural fabrics are luxurious, and shows how contemporary clothing can be stylish, well-cut, and fashionable even though they are made from ancient craft techniques.

Great Expectations

2009 is going to be a big year for Brass Tacks. Aside from a tie-up with a weaver’s cooperative in Andhra Pradesh, and hopefully retailing at a store in Hyderabad, this past December’s sales have been my highest ever and I choose to see it as a sign of things to come in 2009.

I announced my Winter Collection on December 12th, and ever since then the store has been really busy. I worked hard to make sure this collection would be a good mix of “safe” styles (which are basically classic styles like Bishop Shirt, Gupta’s Garden, and Marina Beach that I know most people will like) and a few experimental ones like Kolam Kurta, Knotted Neck and Marsupium. Kolam Kurta has a knot at the neck and making the pattern for that style was really difficult, although we did have a Japanese book (called Pattern Magic) that had detailed diagrams. My favourite this collection was Marsupium, a top with two layers of cowled fabric forming an open pouch in front. So far Kolam Kurta is flying off the shelves, but Marsupium has been purchased only by a few people who do not live in Chennai. Knotted Neck, a style with a high collar stitched down to a knot at one point, has also been received well.

When I first started designing for Brass Tacks, I found that my styles were very conservative: regular shirts with darts and plain A-line skirts. I guess a lot of that was a reflection of my design and pattern making skills, but I also thought that making regular well-cut clothing would be enough. Now I’ve realized with more exposure to fabric and fashion, my own taste has changed and I long not only for well-cut clothes but also more adventurous clothing that is reflective of myself as well as the Brass Tacks brand. I’m now working on some interesting styles for the Spring and Summer collection and I have some fun ideas for the photo-shoots for those collections as well.

Below are the creative shots for the Winter Collection (the one with the umbrella is my favourite).

Pournami (Eri and Tussar silk top)


Kolam Kurta (Cotton kurta with a knot at the neck)


Abies Alba (Silk ikat dress)